Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an ultrasonic angle-beam probe having an approach wedge with a wedge surface that carries at least one sound transducer that is connected to a pulse generator and/or a sound evaluator. The invention also relates to a method for operating an ultrasonic angle-beam probe.
Such an angle-beam probe is known from page 238 of the book entitled "Werkstoffprufung mit Ultraschall" [Materials Testing by Ultrasound] by J. and H. Krautkramer, 3rd Edition 1975. In addition to a pulse/echo method described therein, such an angle-beam probe can also operate in a transmit/receive mode, wherein the wedge surface is assigned one separate sound transducer each, for transmitting and receiving soundwaves.
In the case of sound transducers of such angle-beam probes, a specific size is necessary to achieve a specific sound field structure, and is expressed in the overall height of the angle-beam probe. If the angle-beam probe is to be inserted in a gap, the overall height sets limits which preclude testing starting from a specific gap width. A reduction in the overall height would entail reducing the size of the sound transducer and thus a reduced testing sensitivity.